Crowds gather to witness London’s first regatta for 25 years

With the Tall Ships Festival commencing last Friday afternoon, thousands of people lined the River Thames banks over the weekend as a large fleet of extravagant vessels made their way through Woolwich, Royal Greenwich, the Peninsula and Canary Wharf.

This convoy marked the largest to have visited the capital in a quarter of a century and was just one of the many attractions on offer to attendees. The subsequent race was the first ever to both start and finish at a UK port and featured ships from all over Europe – including Spain, Holland, Portugal and Russia.

Many of the liners taking part were over 100 years old and these began to descend on London’s south east corner from Friday morning onwards. As well as seeing a broad array of the world’s finest ships, there was also a firework display, live music and family activities, ensuring guests of all ages were catered for.

The event has been a huge success so far, and something we at Andrews Sykes are delighted to be involved in. We have a marquee situated just outside the Cutty Sark and have sponsored 250 volunteers who are wearing t-shirts with our branding on. And with the revelries set to continue until Tuesday 9^th September, there is still time to visit any of the four participating locations and observe the ships in all their glory.